State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

General97

  • Public Schools Lead Charge for Environmental Reform

    Public Schools Lead Charge for Environmental Reform

    School lunches are about to be carried in a brand new way. According to a recent article in The New York Times, six major urban public schools systems in New York, Orlando, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Dallas (collectively known as The Urban School Food Alliance) aim to make school lunches more sustainable. The goal…

  • Student Profile: Emily Soergel

    Student Profile: Emily Soergel

    After working with communities in developing areas to reduce, reuse and recycle, Emily Soergel is witness to the power of collective community engagement in promoting the creation of effective strategies to cope with environmental challenges. A member of the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (M.P.A. E.S.P.) Class of 2010, Soergel’s work…

  • Student Profile: Bonita Treinen

    Student Profile: Bonita Treinen

    During a seven-year career in international education—on a path that took her from Poland to Thailand to Spain and on to China before eventually returning to the United States—Bonita Treinen, a native of rural Minnesota and Wisconsin, took time off in every country where she worked to travel to rural areas and observe the challenges…

  • SurTab Tablets and Mobile Phone Technology’s Impact on Development in Haiti

    SurTab Tablets and Mobile Phone Technology’s Impact on Development in Haiti

    The Haiti Research and Policy Program at the Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development concluded the Fall 2013 Dialogue Series with guest Maarten Boute, CEO of SurTab Haiti, the first Android tablet manufacturing company in Haiti. Boute is the former CEO of Digicel Haiti, a mobile phone network provider currently operating in 31 markets across…

  • Student Profile: Joseph Raser

    Student Profile: Joseph Raser

    Joseph Raser GS’11 knows that dreams can take you in unpredictable directions. Before he discovered his passion for sustainable development, Raser served in the United States Army as a non-commissioned airborne forward officer stationed in Italy. In 2008, he was sent to Siuna, Nicaragua, on a medical and economic mission. This experience, which was followed…

  • Genetic Modifications You May Not Know About

    Genetic Modifications You May Not Know About

    While much attention is focused on genetically modified foods, fewer people are aware that many other genetically modified organisms and cells are in development. Columbia University’s Shaheed Naeem and Matthew Palmer offer their perspectives.

  • Student Profile: Davida Heller

    Student Profile: Davida Heller

    Before starting her M.S. in Sustainability Management, Davida Heller had been advised not to chase her dream. When becoming an environmental lawyer for Greenpeace was derided as being a low paying profession with few prospects, Davida followed her family’s advice and moved from Long Island to Los Angeles to follow her other passion, the film…

  • Student Profile: Denise Lee

    Student Profile: Denise Lee

    Denise Lee has long had a passion for pursuing equitable and sustainable development and contributing to the creation of a global system that apportions value to social and environmental capital alongside economic capital. Denise’s values and goals have led her on a unique academic and career path that has included research and development work in…

  • Student Profile: Cheryl Wilson

    Student Profile: Cheryl Wilson

    Australian peat sediment helped Cheryl Wilson hone her career goals. A current student in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (M.P.A. E.S.P.) program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, she has possessed a passion for environmental science and current policy issues throughout her academic career. She was introduced…

Banner: Climate Week NYC 2025, September 21-28, 2025
  • Public Schools Lead Charge for Environmental Reform

    Public Schools Lead Charge for Environmental Reform

    School lunches are about to be carried in a brand new way. According to a recent article in The New York Times, six major urban public schools systems in New York, Orlando, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Dallas (collectively known as The Urban School Food Alliance) aim to make school lunches more sustainable. The goal…

  • Student Profile: Emily Soergel

    Student Profile: Emily Soergel

    After working with communities in developing areas to reduce, reuse and recycle, Emily Soergel is witness to the power of collective community engagement in promoting the creation of effective strategies to cope with environmental challenges. A member of the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (M.P.A. E.S.P.) Class of 2010, Soergel’s work…

  • Student Profile: Bonita Treinen

    Student Profile: Bonita Treinen

    During a seven-year career in international education—on a path that took her from Poland to Thailand to Spain and on to China before eventually returning to the United States—Bonita Treinen, a native of rural Minnesota and Wisconsin, took time off in every country where she worked to travel to rural areas and observe the challenges…

  • SurTab Tablets and Mobile Phone Technology’s Impact on Development in Haiti

    SurTab Tablets and Mobile Phone Technology’s Impact on Development in Haiti

    The Haiti Research and Policy Program at the Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development concluded the Fall 2013 Dialogue Series with guest Maarten Boute, CEO of SurTab Haiti, the first Android tablet manufacturing company in Haiti. Boute is the former CEO of Digicel Haiti, a mobile phone network provider currently operating in 31 markets across…

  • Student Profile: Joseph Raser

    Student Profile: Joseph Raser

    Joseph Raser GS’11 knows that dreams can take you in unpredictable directions. Before he discovered his passion for sustainable development, Raser served in the United States Army as a non-commissioned airborne forward officer stationed in Italy. In 2008, he was sent to Siuna, Nicaragua, on a medical and economic mission. This experience, which was followed…

  • Genetic Modifications You May Not Know About

    Genetic Modifications You May Not Know About

    While much attention is focused on genetically modified foods, fewer people are aware that many other genetically modified organisms and cells are in development. Columbia University’s Shaheed Naeem and Matthew Palmer offer their perspectives.

  • Student Profile: Davida Heller

    Student Profile: Davida Heller

    Before starting her M.S. in Sustainability Management, Davida Heller had been advised not to chase her dream. When becoming an environmental lawyer for Greenpeace was derided as being a low paying profession with few prospects, Davida followed her family’s advice and moved from Long Island to Los Angeles to follow her other passion, the film…

  • Student Profile: Denise Lee

    Student Profile: Denise Lee

    Denise Lee has long had a passion for pursuing equitable and sustainable development and contributing to the creation of a global system that apportions value to social and environmental capital alongside economic capital. Denise’s values and goals have led her on a unique academic and career path that has included research and development work in…

  • Student Profile: Cheryl Wilson

    Student Profile: Cheryl Wilson

    Australian peat sediment helped Cheryl Wilson hone her career goals. A current student in the Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (M.P.A. E.S.P.) program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, she has possessed a passion for environmental science and current policy issues throughout her academic career. She was introduced…